Priorizando la investigación para la conservación de las aves esteparias: Una prospección bibliográfica

With the aim to identify priorities in conservation-oriented research, this paper reviews the level of scientific attention given to steppe birds in Spain during the last 50 years. We surveyed scientific literature using Thomson Reuters Web of Science and the journal Ardeola, using the English names of 28 species of steppe birds and the word "Spain" as search terms. Every species was assigned a Scientific Attention Index (SAI), based on the number of articles published on each of them. In addition, a vulnerability measure (Vulnerability Score; VS) was calculated for each species on the basis of the trend estimate provided by the Sacre or Noctua monitoring programmes, or according to expert criteria. The sample gathered (432 articles) was a significant and thus representative proportion of WOS and Ardeola contents on the species considered. The most studied species was the red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa, with 83 papers (20.15%); while the least studied was the short-eared owl Asio flammeus (1 paper; 0.24%). The most studied knowledge area was Habitat Selection (92 papers; 22.17%), while the least was Niche/Climate, with nine papers (2.17%). Preferred habitat (grass steppe, shrub steppe or mixed) was not a significant factor in the level of scientific attention given to the different species. However, large-sized species (non-Passerines) were significantly more studied than small-sized ones (Passerines), indicating a research bias for the former group. Finally, no significant relationship was found between SAI and VS, which suggests that research effort has been allocated irrespective of the species' conservation status. These results highlight the scarce scientific attention given to most steppe birds in Spain in spite of their overall high vulnerability, and for most of the knowledge areas considered. On the other hand, they also show the high relative importance of research carried out in Spain, in both the Mediterranean and world contexts. This work underscores the need to focus scientific effort on certain species, especially those that currently show more regressive trends or higher levels of vulnerability, and in most areas of knowledgeThis work was carried out with the only support of the REMEDINAL 3 project of the Comunidad de Madri

Resource partitioning and niche segregation in a steppe bird assemblage

Niche theory predicts that coexisting species will partition resources to limit the effects of interspecific competition. We examined microhabitat partitioning in six sets of steppe birds associated to agroecosystems in central Spain (female and male Great Bustards Otis tarda, female and male Little Bustards Tetrax tetrax, Red-legged Partridges Alectoris rufa and Eurasian Stone-curlews Burhinus oedicnemus) to estimate realized niche breadth, overlap and segregation. Principal Components Analysis on data from used and random microhabitat locations produced two axes we retained for analysis related with two key factors: cover-visibility and food availability. Non-parametric kernel density functions were calculated for each of the PCA axes and species (or sexes), and niche overlap estimated as the area shared between species’ density functions. Null models were run to evaluate overlap significance. In analyses of microhabitat selection by the six sets of birds, 13 out of 15 pairs had significant resource partitioning and niche segregation, except for the pairs partridge and female Great Bustard and the two sexes of Great Bustard. Eurasian Stone-curlew showed wider trophic niche breadth, although segregated from the other species, probably because of its higher invertebrate requirements. Great and Little Bustards segregated in both niche axes, selecting microhabitat according to their body size. Accessibility to food resources and shelter seems to be similar for partridges and female Great Bustards, overlapping in their selection, which may indicate the existence of segregation in other niche factors (e.g., feeding habits). Great Bustard males showed niche overlap with females. Little Bustard males showed feeding microhabitat selection patterns similar to those of females, although they preferred more open microhabitats to meet their sexual display requirements. The entire assemblage had significantly less overlap than expected by chance, suggesting that differential microhabitat selection and realized niche partitioning may explain coexistence in steppe bird communities. Our results suggest that the maintenance of different microhabitat structure should be a priority in the management of agricultural environments

Comparative assessment of satellite- and drone-based vegetation indices to predict arthropod biomass in shrub-steppes

Arthropod biomass is a key element in ecosystem functionality and a basic food item for many species. It must be estimated through traditional costly field sampling, normally at just a few sampling points. Arthropod biomass and plant productivity should be narrowly related because a large majority of arthropods are herbivorous, and others depend on these. Quantifying plant productivity with satellite or aerial vehicle imagery is an easy and fast procedure already tested and implemented in agriculture and field ecology. However, the capability of satellite or aerial vehicle imagery for quantifying arthropod biomass and its relationship with plant productivity has been scarcely addressed. Here, we used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and satellite Sentinel-2 (S2) imagery to establish a relationship between plant productivity and arthropod biomass estimated through ground-truth field sampling in shrub steppes. We UAV-sampled seven plots of 47.6–72.3 ha at a 4-cm pixel resolution, subsequently downscaling spatial resolution to 50 cm resolution. In parallel, we used S2 imagery from the same and other dates and locations at 10-m spatial resolution. We related several vegetation indices (VIs) with arthropod biomass (epigeous, coprophagous, and four functional consumer groups: predatory, detritivore, phytophagous, and diverse) estimated at 41–48 sampling stations for UAV flying plots and in 67–79 sampling stations for S2. VIs derived from UAV were consistently and positively related to all arthropod biomass groups. Three out of seven and six out of seven S2-derived VIs were positively related to epigeous and coprophagous arthropod biomass, respectively. The blue normalized difference VI (BNDVI) and enhanced normalized difference VI (ENDVI) showed consistent and positive relationships with arthropod biomass, regardless of the arthropod group or spatial resolution. Our results showed that UAV and S2-VI imagery data may be viable and cost-efficient alternatives for quantifying arthropod biomass at large scales in shrub steppes. The relationship between VI and arthropod biomass is probably habitat-dependent, so future research should address this relationship and include several habitats to validate VIs as proxies of arthropod biomassBBVA Foundation, BBVA Dron Ricoti project; European Commission, Grant/ Award Number: LIFE15-NAT-ES-000802; REMEDINAL-3 from CAM; European Comission, Grant/Award Number: LIFE20-NAT-ES-00013

The Suppressor of AAC2 Lethality SAL1 Modulates Sensitivity of Heterologously Expressed Artemia ADP/ATP Carrier to Bongkrekate in Yeast

The ADP/ATP carrier protein (AAC) expressed in Artemia franciscana is refractory to bongkrekate. We generated two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae where AAC1 and AAC3 were inactivated and the AAC2 isoform was replaced with Artemia AAC containing a hemagglutinin tag (ArAAC-HA). In one of the strains the suppressor of ΔAAC2 lethality, SAL1, was also inactivated but a plasmid coding for yeast AAC2 was included, because the ArAACΔsal1Δ strain was lethal. In both strains ArAAC-HA was expressed and correctly localized to the mitochondria. Peptide sequencing of ArAAC expressed in Artemia and that expressed in the modified yeasts revealed identical amino acid sequences. The isolated mitochondria from both modified strains developed 85% of the membrane potential attained by mitochondria of control strains, and addition of ADP yielded bongkrekate-sensitive depolarizations implying acquired sensitivity of ArAAC-mediated adenine nucleotide exchange to this poison, independent from SAL1. However, growth of ArAAC-expressing yeasts in glycerol-containing media was arrested by bongkrekate only in the presence of SAL1. We conclude that the mitochondrial environment of yeasts relying on respiratory growth conferred sensitivity of ArAAC to bongkrekate in a SAL1-dependent manner. © 2013 Wysocka-Kapcinska et al

Interactions in shrubsteppes: Implications for the maintenance of a threatened bird

The interactions between ecosystem components and their implications on birds have been poorly studied, especially in shrubsteppes. In this work, we evaluate the interactions between vegetation structure, arthropods availability and the use of space by the Dupont's lark (Chersophilus duponti) in important areas for the species in the Iberian Peninsula. To that end, between 20152018 springs, bird censuses and microhabitat samples were carried out in suitable areas for the species, which should be taken as a reference for habitat restoration tasks. The intensity of space use by the species was calculated by a kernel density function, which defines the probability of finding a territory from the spatial pattern of observations. The habitat quality was determined by sampling vegetation structure and food availability. Habitat structure variables were summarized by principal component analysis. Linear mixed models (LMMs) were adjusted to evaluate the relationships between variables. Shrub cover was positively and significantly related to total epigeous biomass and Coleoptera biomass, and positive but marginally significant with hypogeous biomass (mainly arthropods larvae). The biomass of order Araneae was positively and significantly related to the use of space by Dupont's lark, while total epigeous biomass and Coleoptera biomass were positively but marginally related to the use of space by Dupont's lark. This work provides new results about habitat and its quality for Dupont's lark in optimal habitat for the species, and it highlight the fundamental role of arthropod availability for the maintenance of the species which has to be taken into account in carrying out restoration actions for the speciesEste trabajo se ha realizado gracias a la Oficina de Educación, Juventud y Deporte (Comunidad de Madrid) y el Fondo Social Europeo para la Iniciativa de Empleo Juvenil (PEJD-2018-PRE/AMB-8063); el proyecto Life-Ricotí (LIFE15-NATES-000802), otorgado por la Comisión Europea; el proyecto BBVADron-Ricotí, otorgado por la Fundación BBV

Zoonotic potential of urban wildlife faeces, assessed through metabarcoding

Monitoring zoonoses in urban environments is of great relevance, where the incidence of certain pathogens may be higher and where population density makes the spread of any contagious disease more likely. In this study we applied a metabarcoding approach to study potentially zoonotic pathogens in faecal samples of 9 urban vertebrate species. We applied this methodology with two objectives. Firstly, to obtain information on potential pathogens present in the urban fauna of a large European city (Madrid, Spain) and to determine which are their main reservoirs. In addition, we tested for differences in the prevalence of these potential pathogens between urban and rural European rabbits, used as ubiquitous species. Additionally, based on the results obtained, we evaluated the effectiveness of metabarcoding as a tool for monitoring potential pathogen. Our results revealed the presence of potentially zoonotic bacterial genera in all studied host species, 10 of these genera with zoonotic species of mandatory monitoring in the European Union. Based on these results, urban birds (especially house sparrows and pigeons) and bats are the species posing the greatest potential risk, with Campylobacter and Listeria genera in birds and of Chlamydia and Vibrio cholerae in bats as most relevant pathogens. This information highlights the risk associated with fresh faeces from urban wildlife. In addition, we detected Campylobacter in > 50 % of the urban rabbit samples, while we only detected it in 11 % of the rural rabbit samples. We found that urban rabbits have a higher prevalence of some pathogens relative to rural rabbits, which could indicate increased risk of pathogen transmission to humans. Finally, our results showed that metabarcoding can be an useful tool to quickly obtain a first screening of potentially zoonotic organisms, necessary information to target the monitoring efforts on the most relevant pathogens and host speciesREMEDINAL TE-CM (P2018/ EMT4338

Reconciling livestock production and wild herbivore conservation: challenges and opportunities

Increasing food security and preventing further loss of biodiversity are two of humanity’s most pressing challenges. Yet, efforts to address these challenges often lead to situations of conflict between the interests of agricultural production and those of biodiversity conservation. Here, we focus on conflicts between livestock production and the conservation of wild herbivores, which have received little attention in the scientific literature. We identify four key socio-ecological challenges underlying such conflicts, which we illustrate using a range of case studies. We argue that addressing these challenges will require the implementation of co-management approaches that promote the participation of relevant stakeholders in processes of ecological monitoring, impact assessment, decision-making, and active knowledge sharing